Reid won't push poker in tax cut bill

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Thursday affirmed his commitment to legalizing online poker but has apparently decided against using the tax cut bill to achieve his goal.

The Nevada Democrat, who maintains close ties to the gambling industry, had been working to build support for including the poker legalization in legislation to extend the Bush-era tax cuts. But when the 74-page tax cut bill was officially introduced late Thursday, it did not include the poker language.

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With the lame-duck session winding down, Reid has a dwindling set of ways to enact the measure before next year, when Republicans, who tend to oppose gambling expansion, assume more seats in the Senate and take control of the House, dimming prospects for online poker legalization.

Reid could still insert the poker legalization into the tax cut bill if additional modifications are made before a final vote is cast sometime next week. Or he could slip the plan into a mammoth $1 trillion omnibus spending bill that has yet to be unveiled but is necessary to keep the government funded through September. Any option is certain to generate backlash from the GOP.

Reid issued a statement to his home state press corps Thursday evening confirming that he is crafting legislation to legalize online poker, framing the effort as a common-sense measure to regulate and tax gambling occurring through offshore companies.

“The legislation I am working on would get our collective heads out of the sand and create a strict regulatory environment to protect U.S. consumers, prevent underage gambling and respect the decisions of states that don’t allow gambling,” he said. He asserted his bill would ensure “the revenue and jobs from this multibillion-dollar industry will stay where it belongs — here in America.”

Legalizing online poker would require overturning parts of a 2006 bill called the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. That law bars financial institutions from processing electronic payments for online gambling.

Reid previously opposed online gambling. And his critics have blasted his bill as political payback to the big casino interests that would reap millions of dollars from online poker and that helped him win reelection last month.

Las Vegas-based casino operators Harrah's, now known as Caesars Entertainment Corp., and MGM Resorts International — both of which support Reid’s bill — were among his most generous campaign contributors. Together, their employees and political action committees contributed $275,000 to Reid’s reelection campaign, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.

And the two casino companies combined to contribute at least $375,000 to Patriot Majority, an independent political group that spent more than $3.3 million attacking Reid’s Republican rival Sharron Angle, whose down-to-the-wire campaign against Reid was fueled with millions of dollars from tea party donors.